Speckled carpetshark

The speckled carpetshark, Hemiscyllium trispeculare, is a small bamboo shark in the family Hemiscylliidae, within the carpet shark order Orectolobiformes. It is found around northern and western Australia, between roughly 8 and 22 degrees south and 114 and 152 degrees east, and it lives on shallow coral reefs of the continental shelf. Adults grow to about 79 centimetres in length. The body is covered with dense dark spots, some small and some large, that form a net-like pattern over a lighter ground colour, with strong dark crossbands on the underside of the tail; the species name refers to three eyespots on the shoulder. It is thought to feed mainly on bottom-living invertebrates. Reproduction is oviparous: paired eggs are laid and the embryos feed only on yolk. The species is closely related to the epaulette shark, is kept in aquaria, and is taken in minor fisheries. The IUCN lists it as Least Concern.